A Gedling MP has revealed that no schools within his constituency are facing mandatory closures due to unsafe concrete, following a nationwide directive highlighting potential risks.
Some 104 schools and colleges are now scrambling to put emergency measures in place in time for the return after the summer holidays after being told by the Department for Education (DfE) to partially or fully close buildings.
It is because of fears concrete used in the construction of some school buildings could collapse.
However, the Government has not revealed the 104 education facilities that are affected.
RAAC is a lightweight building material used from the 1950s up to the mid-1990s, but now assessed to be at risk of collapse.
Gedling MP Tom Randall last night posted an update on his Facebook page in an effort to reassure parents in the area.
He wrote: “Parents across Gedling may be concerned at the reported problems with Aerated Concrete in school buildings but I am pleased to confirm that no school in Gedling will be closing as a result of this issue.
“It is worth noting that local councils have been working with schools and the DfE to assess and correct any issues for several months and no school in Nottinghamshire will be closing because of RAAC.”
The DfE has been considering RAAC as a potential issue since late 2018 but the timing of the decision to issue guidance just days before the start of term has angered unions.
National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “It is absolutely disgraceful, and a sign of gross Government incompetence, that a few days before the start of term, 104 schools are finding out that some or all of their buildings are unsafe and cannot be used.
“To add insult to injury the Government states in its guidance that it will not be covering the costs of emergency temporary accommodation or additional transport.”
So that’s what our M.P. looks like!
Always seems to pop up when there’s something he can boast about even when it seems he’s had no contribution. Strange chap